‘A Night in Mechanical Engineering’ attracts a great deal of interest
That was it: Mechanical Engineering Night 2026 – featuring the fantasy machines for ‘young scientists’ and a colourful array of hands-on activities, live experiments and interactive stations for anyone interested, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering opened the doors to its laboratories on 12 June 2026 to showcase the diversity of Mechanical Engineering in Paderborn.
All the chairs and research groups of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering were represented, as well as the CMP (Coatings, Materials & Polymers) Chair from the Department of Chemistry. Despite the poor weather forecast, the first children began flooding onto the campus from 2.00 pm to take part in various small experiments, craft activities and painting sessions. The hall doors were then opened flexibly and earlier than planned, so that by around 3.30 pm the first curious visitors were already making their way into the hall. There, alongside VR and AR applications, DIY bridges, punching bags, darts and goal-scoring targets, as well as many activities centred on sustainability, thermal and fluid dynamics, new materials and manufacturing processes – and, once again this year, the inter-departmental project of building a birdhouse. The programme was rounded off by aluminium casting, coin minting, boomerang-making and a drone flight inside the hall. Once again this year, the homemade popcorn and the opportunity to make your own nail varnish proved very popular. Refreshments were also provided: food trucks serving savoury and sweet dishes, as well as a Coffee Bike offering freshly brewed coffee specialities, invited visitors to linger.
As the doors slowly closed at around 11.00 pm, we saw many children’s eyes sparkling with delight, happy young researchers and interested adults. We’d like to say thank you to everyone involved and all our visitors, and we’re already looking forward to 2027, when, as part of Paderborn’s city anniversary celebrations, the theme at the UPB will be ‘to know how the wind blows´. See you on 9 April 2027 for the ‘Long Night of Science’!
